Emerging Technology Essay Contest—2nd Place Winner
Low-energy nuclear reactions (LENRs) offer the first opportunity since the advent of fission reactors to change fundamentally the way the Navy powers its ships, systems, and weapons.
LENRs will require substantial development to become practical; but if they fulfill their promise, they will offer a robust energy technology with useful electrical and thermal output and an energy density much higher than fossil fuels.1 (Energy density is used colloquially to mean “specific energy”—the ratio of energy produced to the mass of fuel consumed. It typically is measured in Joules/kilogram.) Laboratory experiments indicate that, despite the “low-energy” name, this science has the potential to lead to extremely energy-dense, thin, flat devices. In theory, LENRs yields could approach 4 megawatts of thermal power per square meter, ample for almost any purpose. (A well-sited, above average solar panel might produce 0.1 to 0.2 kilowatts per square meter.)
LENR systems may have power densities six orders of magnitude (millions of times) greater than chemical-based energy generation or storage systems, and thus could support a variety of military and commercial applications.
The nuclear reactions in LENRs are distinct from those in fission and fusion and occur in environments at or near room temperature. These neutron-catalyzed reactions are neither exotic nor hypothetical; the physics of LENRs are consistent with the existing Standard Model—that is, they do not conflict with the known laws of physics.
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